Are we all still France?

Paris was attacked one week ago today. Within minutes Nous sommes toute la France — We are all France –– went viral on FaceBook along with French flags.

Very quickly U.S. Congressmen and a majority of governors in the United States went before television cameras and microphones to declare that Syrian refugees would no longer be welcome here.

Meanwhile a strange thing happened in France. French President Francois Hollande, speaking to French mayors, declared the opposite. He re-iterated and increased his commitment to France’s “humanitarian duty” to refugees fleeing Syria and Afghanistan.

While the French President and President Obama have maintained balanced concerns for national security and humanitarian duty, fear has been spreading. Fear of terror is as legitimate in the U.S. as it is in France. It’s what we do with fear that matters.